Bloomington, IL to Deadwood, SD

[metman]

We are planning on heading to Deadwood three wheeler rally right after the Fourth of July, leaving from central Illinois and headed up to that area of SD.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what roads to take, while staying off interstates as much as possible, and what there is to see on the way to Deadwood.

And after that, we are going to the SITR meet after roaming around the Northwest. Want to see what the Pacific Ocean looks and feels like.

Mike in KY

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I can't give you any suggestions on your route but I hope to see you at SITR in August. Have a fun and safe trip and post some pictures for us.

 

[ARtraveler]

We are planning on heading to Deadwood three wheeler rally right after the Fourth of July, leaving from central Illinois and headed up to that area of SD.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what roads to take, while staying off interstates as much as possible, and what there is to see on the way to Deadwood.

And after that, we are going to the SITR meet after roaming around the Northwest. Want to see what the Pacific Ocean looks and feels like.

Mike in KY

Most of the "good stuff" starts 50 miles W of Murdo SD. Badlands National Park/Wall SD (Wall Drug).

Your trip across IA will be very similar to IL. Farms and rolling hills are beautiful though. When you hit SD you will see about 300 miles of plains. Where "farms" are now called "ranches" Council Bluffs overlooking Omaha is not bad.

 

[ARCTIC]

You should hit at least part of the great river road along the Mississippi River. http://experiencemississippiriver.com/
It's some very nice riding. The northeast corner of Iowa has some nice terrain too. Lacrosse Wisconsin area has huge bluffs it is nice. Maybe hit the great river road just outside of Davenport and follow to Prairie Du Chien them take highway 9 across northern Iowa. Okoboji/Spirit Lake is our mini version of Lake of the Ozarks

Otherwise the Loess hills in the western part of Iowa are very nice but I'd probably lean towards running the Mississippi

 

[Dmottv]

You should hit at least part of the great river road along the Mississippi River. http://experiencemississippiriver.com/
It's some very nice riding. The northeast corner of Iowa has some nice terrain too. Lacrosse Wisconsin area has huge bluffs it is nice. Maybe hit the great river road just outside of Davenport and follow to Prairie Du Chien them take highway 9 across northern Iowa. Okoboji/Spirit Lake is our mini version of Lake of the Ozarks

Otherwise the Loess hills in the western part of Iowa are very nice but I'd probably lean towards running the Mississippi

I agree, good advice here. We rode the bikes to Sturgis through this area in 2001 and enjoyed the Mississippi run south from Lacrosse and then across northern Iowa. In 2003, we rode beautiful Route 2 across Nebraska with a stop at Wounded Knee and that was a nice route. Just plan for gas, there can be some long distances between gas stops out there on the Prairie!

 

[jwulf74]

There really isn't a ton to see in SD. Most of it is along the super slab (which now has an 80mph speed limit :yes. Sioux Falls is nice. Lots of places to eat. Sioux Falls also hosts Hot Harley Nights July 9-12th. It is open to everyone and the owners of J&L Harley (the hosts) also own the Spyder dealership. July 15th also brings Hot Summer Nights as the Corvettes come through on the way out to the Black Hills for the Corvette Classic (July 15-18th). They meet in SF and then "race" out the next morning early. I always wanted to tag along in my '05 GTO but work always gets in the way and I traded it... maybe I will make a special point of it next year with our "new" '12 CTS-V.

Mitchell has the World's Only Corn Palace... We go over there for Cabela's though... Pierre has the worlds fourth largest earthen rolled dam. It was the largest when it was built in 1963 but others had to go and build bigger... They offer tours of the dam power plant. Good walleye fishing in Pierre. Good hunting too. Pierre also has a couple of military museums, mainly WWII if I recall and the Cultural Heritage Museum (life on the prairie type stuff.)

Further west gets you Murdo's car museum. Around Kadoka you can catch a tour of an old ICBM missile silo if you are there at the right time. Kadoka I think also gets you on the road through the Badlands which is a nice scenic ride. Wall Drug... enough said. Ellsworth Air Force Base houses the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.

The Black Hills is fantastic ryding, hiking, biking... http://www.visitrapidcity.com/things-to-do#.VYC7jflViko Scenic Cruising http://www.visitrapidcity.com/things-to-do/black-hills-cruising#.VYC7ovlViko. Lots of tourist trap type stuff but also the National and State Parks.

Anyway, I got long winded. I guess there was a little more to share than just some corn fields.

Enjoy your trip and we will see you in Deadwood.:doorag: